Game Over! E3 apparently cancelled for the first time ever this year

With events all around the world getting cancelled due to fears over the coronavirus/covid-19, the biggest gaming convention in the world is not spared from the realities of a worldwide pandemic. E3 2020, according to several sources, will indeed be cancelled.

As per Ars Technica, sources have stated that E3 2020 will no longer be held. The news came "directly from ESA members" and an official and public statement "was supposed to be today [Tuesday, March 10] and slipped."

The likes of Devolver Digital has also tweeted out similar messages.

[embed]https://twitter.com/devolverdigital/status/1237544646475051016[/embed]

No official statement has come from the Electronics Software Association (ESA), the organisers of the event.

Although the ESA has been bullish in recent weeks, even after the State of Emergency issued by Los Angeles, this news is not unexpected.

Noted industry figures like Wario64, Kotaku's Jason Schreier, Mike Futter all had their say as well.

[embed]https://twitter.com/Wario64/status/1237545500343029766[/embed]

[embed]https://twitter.com/jasonschreier/status/1237546233876471808[/embed]

[embed]https://twitter.com/Futterish/status/1237547090110111744[/embed]

E3 2020 was never going to be the same show. With PlayStation pulling out for a second year running, Geoff Keighley not being part of the show, and the resignation of the show's creative directors iam8bit, the signs were already there.

Considering both Microsoft and Sony will be launching new consoles this year, not having them at E3 2020 was always going to be a big miss.

PlayStation is expected to have their own event, while Microsoft has traditionally used the Microsoft Theatre as their go-to venue during this period.

We await an actual statement from the ESA, but the final nail is likely already in the coffin for E3 2020.

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This article was first published in Geek Culture.